Feeding device



Jan. 11, 1938.

A. ALLENDORF FEEDING DEVICE Filed Feb, 26, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTCR Adam A) lenclorf BY I M ATT% EY Jan. 11, 1938. A. ALLENDORFFEEDING DEVICE Filed Feb. 2a, 1956 s Sheets-Sheet 2 w: E t.

INVENTOR Aqam Allenolorf Jan. 11, 1938. A, ALLENDQRF 2,105,068

FEEDING DEVICE Filed Feb. 26, 1956 I 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR AdamAllendorf ATTO Y Patented Jan. 11, 1938 matte PATENT orrlcs FEEDINGDEVICE Adam Allendorf,

Forest Hills, N. Y.

Application February 26, 1936, Serial No. 65,762

8 Claims.

, This. invention relates to a device for feeding checks or otherdocuments or papers, one at a time, into a photographic machine or anysimilar machine so that a whole stack of checks will be fed throughquickly, but yet only so fast as the second machine can handle them.

An object of the invention is to produce a device of this characterwhich will feed only one check at a time so as to avoid any possibilityof m failure to photograph all of the checks which it is desired to sorecord and to produce a device which will automatically trip or put inmotion the photographic machine as a check is fed into it.

a novel construction which will handle checks of different sizes andhandle them eificiently and expeditiously and feed them but one at atime to the recording machine.

Another object'of the invention is to produce a device which can handlea stack of checks of difierent heights and the device illustrated and.described herein, possesses a movable table to make it so adaptable. WThe feeding device is small and light enough to lee-readily portable andis entirely self contained so that it may be readily removed if desired.

Although the particular embodiment shown and described herein isdesigned to cooperate with a checkphotographic machine, nevertheless,this invention may be used wherever it is desirable to remove paperssingly from a stack or pile and convey them to another place to beintroduced into another mechanism or otherwise utilized.

The device is here shown as a separate mechanism but it may readily beincorporated into a larger mechanism and derive power from a com monsource.

Looking at the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the machine.

Fig. 2 is a cross section through 2-2 of Fig. 1.

iii)

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of part of the vacuum cup actuatingmechanism.

Fig.4 is a rear elevation partly in section of the automatic tripmechanism utilized to synchronize the feeding mechanism with that classof photograph machine which requires a trip action, as each check entersthe photographic mechanism.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of part of the mechanism shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the drive for the table raising mechanism.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of part of the table raising mechanism.

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic representation of the vacuum system. a a

The various elements of the feeding device are arranged on a frameworkadapted to rest on the table of the photographic machine, but may bereadily constructed to rest on a separate table or on the floor if thisis desirable or necessary.

Looking at Fig. 2, l is a horizontal lower frame member of which thereare two in the machine. To each of these is attached a vertical column 2and a vertical column 3. The columns 2 are joined together at the top byan angle iron supporting member 4, and at the bottom by a similar member5 both of which are shown in cross section. The ends of the columns 3are likewise tied together at the top and bottom by a similar pair ofangle iron frame members the lower one of which is shown in crosssectionat 6 but the upper one is notillustrated. These vertical and horizontalframe members form a frame for supporting the moving parts of themachine.

Mounted on this frame work is a vertically movable table shown at l inFig. 1. Table l is adapted to slide up and down on a pair of guidesshown at 8 and 9 (Figs. 1 and 2). Two sheet metal guards, one of whichis shown at ill on Fig. 2, are mounted on the frame adjacent to the twoside edges of the table to serve to confine the stack of checks or otherpapers within the confines of the top of the table. These sheet metalguard members are bent at right angles where they are attached to theframe, so that they form guards for the back of the table, whichcooperate with the two guides 8 and 9 to prevent the checks fromslipping off the table and in toward the middle of the mechanism. Theportions of the guards It which are bent in around the back of the tableare shown at H on Fig. 1 and the top of each is bent into a horizontalplane shown at I2. A wire guard l6 adjustably retained in member llattached to rod 2% by set screw it? serves to hold. the papers on thetable as shown in Fig. 2. Attached to the center or" the back of thetable, between the two guide rails, is a flexible cable, illustrated atI 3, which passes upwardly and over the roller I4 and downwardly againover the winding drum lfi which is shown in detail in Fig. '7. This drumis adapted to be actuated in a step by step rotation to urge the tableupwardly as the checks are fed off of the top of the stack. Thismechanism and its operation will be described hereafter.

A stack of checks is illustrated on top of the table I at C and the topof this stack of checks is held in a more or less flat position by apair of guide arms 24 which are adapted to engage the checks near theends thereof.

The raising of the table is controlled by the position of a pair offeeler arms 25 which are mounted on a common projecting support 26 so asto form a Y shaped'element. It is desirable to make these feeler arms ofa more or less springy material. The arms are rigidly secured iii) to atransverse bar 30 mounted on suitable bearings 3| and 32 adjacent to theends thereof. Bar 30 is adapted to rotate through a limited are underthe action of the arms 25 as these feeler arms are raised or lowered inaccordance with the height of the stack of checks.

A bell crank lever 33 pivoted at 34 is attached by link 35 to projectingarm 36 mounted on bar' 30 so that a rotational movement of the bar 30produces a reciprocating motion of the link 35 which in turn moves thebell crank lever 33 around its pivot point. Bell crank lever 33 is madeup of arm 31 to which link 35 is attached and arm 38 which is urged in aclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1, by a flat spring 46 up againsta stop 4|. The outer end of arm 38 of the bell crank lever 33 isequipped with a series of notches or steps 42 which are adapted tocooperate with the pivoted lever 45 pivoted to the frame work at 46.Mounted on lever 45 is a pivoted pawl 41 the outer orprojecting end ofwhich is adapted to cooperate with the teeth of a ratchet wheel 49 andis normally urged into cooperation with these teeth by a coil spring 5attached to the opposite side or end of the pivoted pawl 41. Ratchetwheel 49 is keyed to a vertical shaft 56.

The detailed construction of this table actuating mechanism is shown inFigs. 6 and '7. Shaft 50 is vertically disposed and passes down into theframe work and has at the lower end thereof a worm 5| which isjournalled in a suitable bearing 52 attached to a frame member. Theupper end of the shaft 50 is likewise journalled in a bearing 53attached to one of the upper cross members of the frame. A suitablebearing to absorb the vertical thrust of this shaft is incorporated inbearing 53 but the details thereof are not illustrated. Shaft 50 isfurnished with a friction connection 55 which is composed of a splitcylindrical member pinned to one portion of the shaft 56 and acomplementary cylindrical portion adapted to fit inside of the splitportion to form a friction coupling 55 so as to furnish a friction driveto the worm 5|, so that if the shaft becomes overloaded, for any reason,the friction coupling slips without breakage to any of the essentialparts of the mechanism.

Worm 5| is adapted to cooperate with worm wheel 66 keyed to a horizontalshaft 6| mounted in suitable bearings on the frame members.

Mounted so as to rotate freely on shaft 6| is a grooved drum I5. Asuitable set screw 63 in the drum l5 cooperates with a circular groovecut in the shaft 6| so as to prevent longitudinal movement of the drumi5 along the shaft but at the same time allowing the drum to rotatefreely. Drum I5 is designed to wind up the cable l3 attached to themovable table Power is transmitted from the shaft 6| to the drum |5through a dog clutch 64which is adapted to slide longitudinally on theshaft 6| a limited distance commensurate with the length of the slot 65cut in the dog clutch 64. The pin 62 attached to the shaft 6| is adaptedto cooperate with the slot 65 to limit the longitudinal motion of themember 64. Clutch member 64 is equipped on the face thereof adjacent tothe drum l5 with a suitable ridge or squared portion adapted tocooperate with the slot or depressed squared portion in the end of thedrum 5 to allow these two members to rotate together when theclutchmember is in the position shown in Fig. 5. Normally clutch member64 is urged toward thedrum |5 by coil spring 66 which is wrapped aroundshaft 6| and positioned between the end of member 64' and a suitablecollar 1'! pinned to the shaft 6| by a set screw or other device.

A manual release for the clutch comprises a pivoted finger l0 pivoted toa frame member at the'upper end thereof, as shown at H, and comprisingat its lower end a pair of forked arms 12 adapted to engage collar 13 onthe inside thereof so that when the arm 10 is moved on its pivot pointin counterclockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 7, it tends to move theclutch member 64 to the right against the pressure of the coil spring66. Arm 10 is manually controlled by link 15 which is normally urged tothe left by a suitable coil spring 16 positioned between a portion ofthe frame 11 and collar 18 attached to link 75. At the outer end of thelink 15 a knob 19 is attached thereto for convenient manual operation ofthe link 15 to disengage the table actuating mechanism.

Looking at Fig. 1, illustrates a link pivotally connected to arm 45about midway the length thereof and at its other end connected to a bellcrank lever 83 pivoted at 84 to the frame work of the machine. Arm 85 ofbell crank lever 83 is normally urged upwardly as shown in Fig. 1 bycoil spring 86. A square rod adapted to slide in a bearing member 8| isconnected in a manner which will be hereafter described, to the drivingmechanism of the machine so that the rod 96 reciprocates back and forthin the bearing 9|. A pin 93 mounted on the rod 99 is adapted to engagethe arm 85 of the bell crank 83 to move the bell crank in a clockwisedirection. Upon the return motion of the shaft 90 the arm 85 is drawnback by the coil spring 86 and thus the bell crank 83 is given a rockingmotion about pivot 84.

The table 1 is moved upwardly as the checks are moved from the top ofthe stack in the following manner:-

The oscillating movement of the bell crank 83 moves the link 80 back andforth which in turn swings the arm 45 about its pivot point and causesthe pawl 41 to rotate the ratchet wheel 49 if and when the arm 45 isallowed to swing in a clockwise direction (Fig. 1) far enough to enablethe pawl 41 to engage a new tooth in wheel 49. The distance that the arm45 can move in a clockwise direction is governed by the position of thenotched end 42 of the bell crank lever 33 and this position in turn iscontrolled by the vertical position of the pair of arms 25 which restupon the top of the stack of checks. As the arms 25 are raised the bellcrank 33 is urged in a direction to compress the spring 46 and interposeone of the notches shown at 42 to cut down or shorten the stroke of thepivoted arm 45. When the arms 25 are raised to such a position that thetop of the stack of checks is at the desired level, the mechanism is sodesigned and constructed that the stroke of the pivoted arm 45 isshortened so that the pawl 47 will not engage a new tooth on the wheel46 and therefore the wheel 49 will not be rotated but when the arms 25drop, due to the fact that checks are removed from the top of the pile,the bell crank 33 is urged in a clockwise direction and the notchesshown at 42 enable the arm 45 to move far enough in a clockwisedirection to allow the pawl. 41 to engage a new tooth on the wheel 49and thus rotate it. Rotation of this wheel as explained before causesrotation of shaft 50, the worm and Wheel, shaft 6|. and finally rotationof drum I5 to wind up the cable I3 and thus raise the table I.

The manually operated link 15 serves to disengage the clutch 64 so thatthe table I may be lowered readily to accommodate a new stack of checks.This of course is done by pulling the knob I5 outwardly todisengage theclutch 64 and thus allow the drum I5 to rotate freely on the shaft 6i.The upper end of shaft 58 is equipped with a hand wheel 54 to enable theshaft '55 to be rotated manually to raise the table to approximately theproper position to commence the feeding of a new stack of checks afterthey are positioned on the table.

Looking at Figs. 2 and 3, a movable carriage made up of side members I50and mi connected by cross bars I52 and W3 and equipped with four groovedwheels IIiII, I65, IIIIS and IUI, is adapted to move back and forth ontracks I63 and I59. This carriage carries thereon a suitable vacuum cupfor lifting the topmost check from the stack of checks and depositing iton a conveyer belt. The vacuum cup and conveyer belt will be describedhereafter.

The carriage is moved by a link or pitman IIU which is pivoted to thecarriage at III by a knurled nut III; and connected at the other endthereof to a rotatable crank IIIZ. Link H6 is constructed to telescopeto a limited extent. The part of the link which is connected to thecrank III! has ahollow cylindrical portion shown at H5 and this isadapted to receive one end of that portion of the link which isconnected to the carriage as shown at II5. Portion II5 may be movedinwardly within the portion I M against the pressure of a small coilspring I III and its outward motion is limited by a set screw II'Ioperating against a suitable shoulder on H5. The motion of the carriageto the left as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2 is limited by a set screw stopIIII which can be locked in any desired position by a lock nut I25. Thetelescoping construction of link I III is to enable crank II2 to rotatefreely even though the carriage has come to rest 7 against the stop H9before the crank II2 has reached dead center.

Crank II2 is keyed to a vertical shaft I28 which is mounted on suitableball bearings shown at IZI and IE2. Mounted on shaft I29 immedi-' atelybelow the crank H2 is a bevelled gear I23 adapted to mesh with bevelledgear IZfiI which is keyed to a horizontal shaft I25 mounted in suitablebearings shown at I 25 and I22. At the outer end of shaft I25 shown nearthe upper right hand corner of Fig. l is a gear I35 adapted to mesh witha gear ItI keyed to horizontal shaft I32 which passes through the framework from one side of the machine to the other and is mounted onsuitable bearings on the frame work. At the outer end of shaft I32 is agear I33 which is adapted to mesh with a pinion I35 attached to a largergear I35 both of which are mounted on a stud shaft I36. Gear I35 in turnmeshes with a pinion I51 which is keyed to a shaft journalled in theframe work and passing therecrank lever 83 and through the mechanismhere-' tofore described, lifts the table I. The drive mechanismillustrated consists of a belt drive and a train of reduction gears ashas just been described, but :this drive may be modified and changed andsome other type of speed reduction device may be substituted such asworm and wheel or belts and pulleys as is well known in the mechanicalarts.

The movable carriage carries a vacuum cup device for transferring thechecks from the table I to the conveyer belt which will be describedhereafter. Mounted on the cross bars IE2 and I53 of the carriage are apair of. right angularly disposed spaced auxiliary frame members IE6 andIGI which are pinned to the members IQQ and IE3 as shown in Fig. 2, andwhich serve as supports for moving parts of the vacuum. cup lift deviceas. will be described hereinafter. A movable shaft I 62 is journalled inbearingsin members I M and ISI and adapted to oscillate therein. Thisshaft is parallel to and disposed between the shafts or rods I82 andI53. At the outer end thereof is attached a crank arm It? (Fig. 3) uponthe outer end of which is a pulley I3 3 adapted to travel back and forthon a track I55 which is pivoted at I55 and the opposite end thereofwhose upward motion is limited by stop I58, is adapted to be raised andlowered by link I57 the upper end of which is pivotally connected to themovable end of track W5 at Ilii and the lower end is pivotally connectedto sliding bar III at I'IZ. Bar III has two slots shown at IN and I75through which pass bolts I16 and III to guide and limit the motion ofthe bar III which is adapted to move back and forth within the confinesof the slots. To the end of the bar III is attached a link I85 which ispivotally connected at its opposite end to a bell crank lever I32 (Fig.1). This lever is pivoted intermediate of its ends at I83 and theopposite end to which link I35 is connected, carries thereon a cam. I85having three cam surfaces I3 5 l5? and I88. This cam is adapted tocooperate with a cam wheel I95 shown in dotted lines, on crank IE2. Asthe crank IIZ rotates the cam wheel I95 will cause the bell crank I82 tooscillate backand forth around the pivot I83.

Coming back to the shaft I52 which is mounted on the movable carriagebetween the braces or rods I02 and IE3, there is attached thereto thecrank arm 2% with a connecting link ZIII attached to arm 252 on amovable shaft 263 mounted in adjustable anti-friction. bearings 2M and205. Attached to shaft 253 near the middlethereof, is the vacuum. cupsupporting arm 29? which is adjustable longitudinally by telescoping onesection inside of another and locking them together with set screws,shown at 298 and 269. The outer end of arm 257 is forked as shown atiii) to pivotally receive the vacuum cup 2 which is made of a flexiblerubber cup 2I2 attached to a metal body from which leads the vacuum pipe213.

A flat coil spring made up of two leaves and attached to frame rod 20sat 2), as illustrated, is made up of a bow-shaped leaf 2l2 and a leaf2l3 which rests thereon and the end of which is adapted to cooperatewith arm 202 to urge the vacuum cup downwardly when the carriage is nearthe end of its stroke adjacent to the stop I IS.

The small coil spring 215 is attached to the movable end of the track Hand to the sliding bar I'll so as to tend to return the track I to itsmore or less horizontal position, after it has been moved downwardly bythe action of the bar ll! and link I61.

Pipe 2| 3 leading from the vacuum cup 2i I leads back along themechanism to the vacuum pump P made up of an open ended cylinder 214,piston 2l5, piston rod 2H3 and a crank 2H attached to shaft I23.(Diagrammatic view is shown in Fig. 8.)

In operation the vacuiun cup works as follows:-

As the movable carriage approaches the position shown in the figures,continued rotation of the crank H2 in a clockwise direction will bringthe carriage back against the stop 1 l9 and the spring 253 will act toforce the vacuum cup 2l2 downwardly. At the same time, cam wheel I willhave cooperated with the cam surfaces on the cam E85 to move the bellcrank lever in a clockwise direction and thus slide the bar l'll towardthe right as viewed in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. This'will cause the lower endof the link l6! to move to the right and the movable end of the trackl65 will move downwardly. As the track is lowered, arm Hi3 will movedownwardly and rotate shaft I62 through a small arc and thus through thelink 2!]! move the vacuum cup arm 28! downwardly until the vacuum cupengages the topmost check on the pile of checks on table 1. The pivotalmounting of the vacuum cup on the forked ends 2? of the arm 26'! willenable the cup to accommodate itself to the angle of the surface of thecheck.

The vacuum pump P is synchronized with the carriage because they areboth driven from a common shaft F20. The crank of the pump is sopositioned that the piston 2l5 of the pump begins its suction strokejust before the vacuum cup starts downwardly to engage the check so thatwhen the cup engages the check a vacuum exists sufficient to lift thecheck from the pile.

Continued rotation of the crank H2 past its dead center will bring thecam wheel I96 into engagement with the cam surface I88 and the bellcrank lever 522 will return toward the position shown in the drawings,which will enable the coil spring 2i5 to raise the track and thus raisethe vacuum cup through the connecting linkage which has already beendescribed. The vacuum cup will lift a check with it and upon furtherrotation of the crank H2 the carriage carrying the vacuum cup and checkwill be moved to the right as viewed in the Figs. 1 and 2 and the checkwill be carried into engagement with the conveying portion of themechanism which will carry it to the outlet of the device. As thecarriage reaches the opposite end of its stroke, from that shown in thefigures, the check will be in position to be removed from the vacuum cupand this is readily accomplished because the vacuum pump P has completedits suction stroke and before this point commences its pressure stroke,so that the check is released by the vacuum cup when the carriage isjust about at the end of its stroke opposite to its position shown inthe figures.

A pair of flat weighted fingers 24 are pivotally connected to rod 209and so positioned that they rest on the checks near the ends thereof tocompensate for the pressure of arm 25 near the center of. the check andthus maintain the checks ina more or less flat position.

As the check is lifted from its resting place on the pile by the vacuumcup 2! i it moves upwardly as viewed in Fig. 2 and passes between theturned over edges i2 of the guards l0 and the arms 24 and then it movesto the right as viewed in the figures and the edge thereof passes undersprings 220 and 22l which are secured to cross bracket member 223 bysuitable screws 224 and 225. The other end of these fiat leaf springsare curved upwardly a little bit to more readily allow the edge of thechecks to pass. thereunder and they bear down upon two wedge shapedrubber feet 230 and 23l which are adapted to prevent any more than onecheck passing onto the conveyer belt at a time. If by chance the vacuumcup should pick up two checks the lowermost one will be stopped by therubber feet whereas the topmost one will continue through under thesprings 220 and 22l onto the conveyer belt. The supporting bracket ofwhich member 223 is. a part, is attached to the frame at the other endthereof by bolt 233. turned up from the main body of this bracket shownat 234 and a supporting rod 231 is adapted to pass through the eyes andis supported at its ends on the frame at 238 and 239. The supportingbracket carries a centrally disposed guide finger 240.

A conveyer belt 250 passes over pulleys 25l, 252 and 253. Pulley 252 ismounted on a shaft 254 shown in Fig. l, to which is keyed gear 260 whichis in mesh with gear 261' on drive shaft I32. A similar conveyer belt249 passes over a similar set of pulleys so that the device is equippedwith a pair of flat conveyer belts.

Cooperating with the conveyer belts 250 and 249 are two pairs of roundbelts. A horizontal pair is shown in Fig. l at 254 and 255. Belt 254passes over pulley 251 mounted on an arm 258 which is supported by thesupporting bracket heretofore described. Arms 258 and 259 (which carrypulley 260) can be conveniently made of one piece bent over as shown inFig. 1. Pulley 263 carries round belt 255 which is similar to belt 254and cooperates with fiat belt 249. The two supporting arms forming onepiece can be pivotally or freely supported on the supporting bracket ofwhich 235 is the main element. Belts 254 and 255 pass over pulleys cuton roller 250 which is journalled in bearings at 26I and 262. Bearings26! and 282 are mounted on two flat springs 265 and 266 which arerigidly secured at 267 and 268 to the frame work and which tend to forcethe roller 26!] downwardly so that the belts thereon will cooperate withthe conveyer belts. The second pair of round belts shown at 210 and Zllalso pass over grooves cut in roller 26!] and around a pair of pulleys,one of which is shown at 2'13 in Fig. 2.

Pulley 213 and the similar pulley which carries belt 219 are mounted onshaft 285 which is attached to members 286 pivoted to the frame work at23'! so that shaft 285 is free to pivot about point 23f and thuscompensate for various thicknesses of checks which have to pass betweenthe round belts 21B, Z'll and the flat conveyer belts 250 and25l. Inactual operation both pair A pair of eyes 235 and 236 are of roundbelts, that is, 254 and 255, 210 and'ZTI,

are forced into contact with the conveyer belt 251) (for clarity in thedrawings, belt 254 is shown in Fig. 2 spaced from belt 251)) The roundbelts are kept in operation because of the frictional contact with thefiat conveyer belts which are power driven as heretofore described.

A supporting table shown at 2813 in Fig. 2, and which occupies the fullwidth of the machine is secured to the angle frame work at one end (leftend as viewed in Fig. 2) and supported'by two adjustable supports (onlyone of which is shown at 282) adapted to pass through the holes in thetable and susceptible of vertical adjustment by knurled nuts, one ofwhich is shown at 283. This table serves to support the conveyor beltsand keep them fiat and also to support that portion of the check whichis not riding on the belts.

In operation after the check is lifted by the vacuum cup 211 and movedforward under the spring fingers 226 and 221 the edge thereof is engagedby the conveyer belts 239 and 250 and the round belts 25 1 and st andthe check travels along the conveyer belt from left to right as viewedin Fig. 2 and thus is picked up by round belts 2113 and 219 incooperation with the sloping portion of belts 239 and 251i and carrieddown to the outlet of the feeding device which is positioned immediatelyabove the inlet of the photographic machine.

In some types of check photographing machines-it is necessary to tripthe machine as each check is delivered to it. In order to accomplishthis automatically, I have devised a trip mechanism which will operatein synchronism with the rest of the feeding device to automatically tripthe photographic machine after each check is delivered to it. Thisdevice is shown in detail in Figs. 4 and 5. It comprises a vacuum motorwith a cylinder 3% closed at both ends, a piston 391 and a piston rod302; The upper end of the cylinder as viewed in thisfigure, is connectedby a pipe 333 tovalve 3M (Figs. 1 and 8) which serves to connect ordisconnect this vacuum motor and thus enable the operator to utilize theI trip mechanism or not, depending upon the type of photographic machinehe is working with.

When valve 3% is open and pipe 383 is connected to pipe 213 which leadsfrom the vacuum pump, the trip mechanism will operate. Surroundingpiston rod 3132 is a coil spring 3% which is compressed between the endof cylinder 3% and a coliar 3M pinned to shaft 352 so as to normallytend to move the piston 381 downwardly as viewed in Fig. 4. Piston rod302 is drilled at the lower end thereof ,so as to slidably receive theend oflever 309 shown in dotted lines which lever is attached to arockershaft shown at 319. The opposite end of this lever 3139 from the endwhich cooperates with piston rod 332 has an upstanding lug thereon 312to which is attached a coil spring 313 which coil spring tends to movethe lever 309 and shaft 31%] in a clockwise direction. One end of coilspring 313 is attached to an adjustable rod 315 which has a knurled nut316 to supply adjustment for the coil spring.

On rotatable shaft 311l is mounted a crank or lever 311 which isconnected by link 314 to a collar 31% mounted on a cylindrical screw31'! threaded on a rod 318 which is connected by a universal joint tosliding rod 319 which slides in a bearing 3% located in curvedsupporting arm 321 which has a curved slot therein through which passscrews 322 and 323 which are adapted to screw into an arm 324 attachedto the frame work of themachine. By means of the screws 322 and 323 theposition of the end of rod 313 may be adjusted within certain limits toposition the end thereof which is equipped with a rubber end piece 323.A coil spring 321 is located between the arm 321 and a collar 32%attached to rod 319 so as to normally tend to move the rod 319 upwardlyas shown in Figs. and 5. Link 314 is equipped with a Z shaped finger 330the function of which will be hereinafter explained.

The rod 93 shown in Figs. 1 and 3, as previously explained, is given areciprocating motion by link 153 attached to crank 153. To the end ofthis rod is pivoted a link335 which is connected to a pivot lever 335pivoted at 331. At the opposite end of 333 at the end of which link 335is connected, is a pin 3%.

Fig. 5 also shows some of the elements of that type of checkphotographing machine which requires manual operation of a startinglever upon the insertion of each check. It is with this type v ofmachine that the trip lever is used. The

hinged portion of the tray of the photographing machine is illustratedat 318. It is pivoted on hinge 311, which is attached to the stationarypartoi the tray, part of which is shown at 312. On the underside of thetray is a stationary arm,

313, to which is pivotally secured a rod 31 t, which in turn isconnected to the starting mechanism of the photographing machine. Acooperating guide to assist the operator in inserting the checks isshown at 315, and the belt adapted to receive the checks is illustratedat 3115, running on pulley 311. A roller, 318, is adapted to cooperatewith the belt to convey the check to the photographing portion of themechanism. When the movable portion of the tray is moved downwardly, thephotographing mechanism is put in operation. With the manual feeding,this is accomplished by the hand of the operator when he inserts thecheck on the conveying belt. With mechanical feeding of the checks bythe applicants device, the movable portion of the tray, 31%, is moveddownwardly by the rod or trip, 319.

In operation when it is desired to utilize the trip mechanism, the valve3% is opened so as to connect pipe 3% with the vacuum pump. When theinlet to the vacuum cup is open i. e. not obstructed by the presence ofa check, the vacuum produced in pipe 303 by the pump P is insufficientto move the piston 3131 against the springs 3116 and 313 with the resultthat although the vacuum pump may be on a suction stroke, the tripvacuum motor will not operate until the vacuum cup picks up a check andthus stops the inflow of air through pipe 213. When this happens thevacuum inside the pipe 3113 increases and becomes strong enough to movethe piston 3111 upwardly which rotates levers 389 and 311 in ananticlockwise direction thus moving the link 3141 to the right as viewedin Fig. 4.

In the meantime, rod 91] has been moving back and forth as previouslydescribed, with the result that lever 336 is oscillated about its pivotpoint 331 and pin 3% raises and lowers and as the member 339 and link314 moves over to the right the former hooks the pin 34!] and the link314 which is connected to rod 319, will move downwardly with the pin 31i! and thus move the rod 319 downwardly to actuate and trip themechanism on the photographic machine.

The various elements of the mechanism are so proportioned and designedthat at about the time pin 34!) reaches its lowermost position, the pumpP has begun to reverse its stroke and the vacuum in the pipe 393 isreduced sufficiently so that the springs 366 and 3I3 will move thepiston 30| upwardly to its original position and thus move the link 3Mwith the hook 339 thereon to the left and thus'disengage it from the pin340 so that the coil spring 321 will return the plunger or rod SIS andthe mechanism connected thereto to the original position shown in Fig.3.

The top of the stack of checks shown on the' table I is illustrated asbeing slightly lower than it is maintained in actual operation so thatthe elements of the machine immediately above the top check can be moreclearly illustrated. The horizontally disposed round belts which areadapted to cooperate with the horizontal portions of the flat belts areshown spaced from the flat belts for convenience of illustration,whereas in actual operation they contact each other.

It is of course understood that the specific description of thestructure set forth above may be departed from without departing fromthe spirit of my invention as set forth in this specification and theappended claims.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, a vertically movable tableadapted to carry a stack of papers such as checks, bills, notes or thelike, a conveyer belt mechanism, a vacuum means for lifting a piece ofpaper from said table, and transferring it to said belt mechanism and atrip lever and positive mechanicalmeans for actuating it when saidvacuum means picks up a paper from said table.

2. In a device of the character described, a vertically movable tablefor holding a stack of papers such as checks, bills or the like, aconveyer belt for moving said pieces of paper through the machine to theoutlet thereof, a vacuum lifting device for transferring a paper fromsaid table to said belt and means interposed between said vacuum liftingdevice and said conveyer belt comprising a pair of spring fingersresting on friction elements and so designed that the paper carried bysaid vacuum device must pass edgeways therebetween before reaching saidconveyer belt.

3. In a device of the character described, a vertically movable tablefor holding a stack of papers, such as checks, bills or the like, aconveyer belt for moving said pieces of paper through the machine to theoutlet thereof, a vacuum lifting device for transferring a paper fromsaid table to said belt and means for separating all but the topmostpapers from the vacuum lifting device comprising two surfaces throughwhich said papers must pass edgewise, a smooth nonfriction upper surfaceand a lower friction surface so designed and arranged as to presslightly together and to receive the edge of the paper or papers attachedto said vacuum lifting device therebetween before said paper or papersreach the conveyer belt.

4. In a device of the character described, a table adapted to support astack of papers such as checks, bills or the like, a conveyer belt totransfer said papers to the outlet of said machine, a vacuum cup to liftthe topmost paper from the stack and move it on to the conveyer belt, avacuum pump connected to said cup, a trip lever adapted to actuate thestarting control of a check photographing machine, a positively drivenreciprocating element and means for connecting said trip lever andreciprocating element to actuate the former.

5. In a device of the character described, a table adapted to support astack of papers such as checks, bills or the like, a conveyer belt totransfer said papers to the outlet of said machine, a vacuum cup to liftthe topmost paper from the stack and move it on to the conveyer belt, avacuum pump connected to said cup, a trip lever adapted to actuate thestarting control of a check photographing machine, a positively drivenrecip rocating element, means for connecting said trip lever andreciprocating element to actuate the former, and means for actuatingsaid connecting means when and only when said vacuum cup engages a pieceof paper to transfer it from said stack to said conveyer belt.

6. In a device of the character described, a table adapted to support astack of papers such as checks, bills or the like, a conveyer belt totransfer said papers to the outlet of said machine, a vacuum cupto liftthe topmost paper from the stack and move it on to the conveyer belt, avacuum pump connected to said cup, a trip lever adapted to actuate thestarting mechanism of a check photographing machine, a positively drivenelement, means for connecting and disconnecting said trip lever andpositively driven element and means for operating said first-mentionedmeans to connect said element and trip lever only when said vacuum cupengages a piece of paper to lift it from said stack to said conveyerbelt.

7. In a device of the character described, a

table adapted to support a stack of papers such as checks, bills or thelike, a conveyer belt to transfer said papers to the outlet of saidmachine, a vacuum cup to lift the topmost paper from the stack and moveit on to the conveyer belt, a vacuum pump connected to said cup, a triplever adapted to actuate the starting mechanism of a check photographingmachine, a positively driven element, means for connecting anddisconnecting said trip lever and element, and a vacuum motor foroperating said connecting means to connect said trip lever and drivenelement to operate the former only when said vacuum cup engages a pieceof paper to lift it from said stack to said conveyer belt.

8. In a device of the character described, a table adapted to support astack of papers such as checks, bills or the like, a conveyer belt totransfer said papers to the outlet of said machine, a vacuum cup to liftthe topmost paper from the stack and move it on to the conveyer belt, avacuum pump connected to said cup, a trip lever adapted to actuate thestarting mechanism of a check photographing machine, a positively drivenelement, means for connecting and disconnecting said trip lever andelement, and a vacuum motor connected to said vacuum pump and cup andadapted to actuate said connecting means only when the opening in thevacuum cup is closed .by a piece of paper so that a relatively highvacuum is produced inside the vacuum motor, thus enabling it to actuatethe connecting mechanism to connect the positively driven element andthe trip lever so that the latter will operate to start the checkphotographing machine.

ADAM ALLENDORF.

